Electrical connector



Nov. 29, 1960 H. R. FICKBOHM ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR Filed April 9, 1956 FIG. 4

IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEY nited States Patent ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR Henry R. Fickbohm, 988 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, Mass.

Filed Apr. 9, 1956, Ser. No. 577,078

2 Claims. (Cl. 339-61) The present invention relates to electrical connectors and, more particularly, to electrical connectors of the type characterized by skew contacts not aligned with the elements to which they are mated until they are manually squeezed into proper alignment against resilient bias which assures tight mechanical and electrical contact.

Objects of the present invention are: to provide, as a novel electrical connector of the foregoing type, an adaptor comprising a pair of forwardly directed blades and rearwardly directed jacks, which are carried by an insulator that permits the conductors to be squeezed into proper alignment against a resilient bias that assures secure connections between the connector blades and wall socket jacks or the like, and between the connector jacks and lamp plug blades or the like; and to provide, in the insulator of a novel electrical connector of the foregoing type, a notch having a bight which is positioned substantially between the conductors so that when the conductors are squeezed into proper alignment, the insulator acts to maximize the forces tending to rotate the conductors about their axes.

Other objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the product possessing the features, properties and relation of components which are exemplified in the following detailed disclosure, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary adaptor embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the adaptor of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the conductors of the adaptor of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of an alternative adaptor embodying the present invention; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the bifurcated spring of the adaptor of Fig. 4.

Generally, the adaptor disclosed in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 is designed to securely interconnect a wall socket or the like with a lamp plug or the like which when mated are prone to accidental separation because of wear, damage, excessive manufacturing tolerance, etc. This adaptor comprises and integral body and two elongated connectors 12 and 1 4 partially embedded in the body. Body 10, for example, is composed of an electrically insulating material that is resilient, for example, a rubber-like material such as natural rubber, neoprene, etc. Connectors 12 and 14 are composed of a shaped, electrically conducting resilient metal such as Phosphor bronze. Generally, connectors 12 and 14 lie in planes which deviate from parallelism by at least 20.

Each connector 12 and 14 includes a blade portion 16 and a jack portion 18 joined by an intermediate portion 20. Blade portion 16 is relatively thick for rigidity. Jack portion 18 is in the form of a channel having one leg adjoining intermediate portion 20 and the other leg indented at 22. Jack portion 18 and intermediate portion 20 are relatively thin to permit the legs to spread when a blade is inserted therebetween and to permit the intermediate portion to flex in order to enable the independent movement of blade portions 16, 16 with respect to each other and of jack portions 18, 18 with respect to each other. Body 10 is provided with a notch 24 the apex 26 of which is positioned substantially between the conductors so that when the conductors are squeezed into proper alignment, the tendency of the conductors to rotate about their axes is maximized and the tendency of the conductors to separate from each other is minimized.

In operation, the forward portion of body 10 is manually squeezed in order to parallelize blades 16, 16 for insertion into the jacks of a wall socket or the like. Thereafter, the rearward portion of body 10 is manually squeezed in order to parallelize the legs of jack portions 18, 18 for reception of the blades of a lamp cord plug or the like. Finally, when the body is man ually released, the blade portions tend to rotate about their axes to securely contact the wall socket jacks no matter what their design or orientation, and the jack portions tend to rotate about their axes to securely contact the lamp plug blades no matter what their tolerance or arrangement.

The alternative adaptor comprises a body 28, the elongated halves 30 and 32 of which are discrete, and two elongated connectors 34 and 36 partially embedded in the two halves. Body 28, for example, is composed of an electrically insulating material that is resilient, for example, a synthetic polymer having good dielectric properties. Connectors 34 and 36 are similar in all respects to connectors 12 and 14. Generally connectors 34 and 36 lie in planes which deviate from parallelism by at least 5.

Body halves 3i) and 32 provide a first pair of faces 38, 40 and a second pair of faces 42, 44. When faces 38, 40 are contiguous, connectors 34 and 36 lie in intersecting planes. When faces 42, 44 are contiguous, connectors 34 and 36 lie in parallel planes. Body halves 30 and 32 are joined by an integral spring metal stamping 46 having a forward V-section 48 and a rearward V-section 50 separated by slots 52, 52 and connected by a junction 54 at their vertices. Suitable bolts, one of which is shown at 56, secure the arms of the forward V-section to the forward portions of body halves 30 and 32. Suitable bolts, one of which is shown at 58 secure the arms of the rearward V-section to the rearward portions of body halves 30 and 32.

The alternative adaptor disclosed in Figs. 4 and 5 operates in the same way as the adaptor of Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

The disclosed embodiments of the present invention thus provide forwardly directed blades and rearwardly directed jacks that are carried by elongated insulator portions which are divided by a slot that assures substantially maximum rotary movement of the blades and the jacks independently about their axes.

Since certain changes may be made in the above-described device without departing from the scope of the invention herein involved, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted in an illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. An electrical connector comprising a pair of forwardly directed blades and a pair of rearwardly directed jacks, said blades and said jacks being reciprocally formed so that one each of said blades may be mated with a jack similar to one each of said jacks and so that one each of said jacks may be mated with a blade similar to oneeach-of-said blades, said blades lying along intersecting planes, said jacks lying along intersecting planes, and a base from which said blades extend and in which said jacks are carried, said blades and said jacks being composed of an electrical conducting material, one each of said blades being electrically connected to one each of said jacks, said base being composed of an electrically insulating material, said base resiliently biasing said blades and said jacks toward said planes, one of said jacks and one of said blades lying in one portion of said base substantially along a first axis, the other of said jacks and the other of said blades lying in another portion of said base substantially along a second axis, said first axis and said second axis being parallel, said one portion of said base being separated from said other portion of said base by a groove the bight of one end of which lies between said blades and the bight of the other end of which lies between said jacks, one each of said jacks being connected to one each of said blades by a flexible conductor, whereby said blades and said jacks when manually squeezed until lying along parallel planes may be secured substantially independently to jacks and blades with which they are mated respectively.

2. The electrical connector of claim 1 wherein said 10 electrically insulating material is resilient;

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 15 2,478,570 Crehan Aug. 9, 1949 2,723,381 Collins Nov. 8, 1955 2,850,711 Terlinde Sept. 2, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 263,208 Great Britain Dec. 21; 1926 

